The Hand Stylus Review

Is there one iPad stylus that stands apart from the rest? The Hand Stylus, a kickstarter-funded project, might be a contender for the title. It features the smallest (retractable) stylus tip and a design that feels like a nice pen or drafting pencil.

The Hand Stylus has the weight and feel of a nice pen. It has an aluminum anodized body and bright appearance. There’s a pocket clip and a clicker with a retractable tip. Instead of a ball-point, there’s a retractable stylus tip, supposedly the worlds smallest, measuring 4mm. As the tip recedes and extends from the pen, it rotates to prevent wearing on one side.

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iPad, iPhone, and other touch screen devices were made to be used with fingers, not styluses. This makes it difficult for stylus manufacturers to design a utensil with the precision of a pen. The trick with the Hand is that inside of the 4mm rubber tip is a precise metal point. The tip squishes against the screen until the internal point makes contact. You have to push harder, but with just a bit of practice you can begin to draw pretty accurately. Notice my [quick] attempt at drawing lines as closely together at possible; a feat that would have taken much more time to do with my finger.

Styluses aren’t for everyone, or every task for that matter. You’re not going to want to type with a stylus (though my Grandma loves it!), however for drawing and doing any creative work it’s a real treat. A neat feature about the Hand Stylus is that you can use your touch device with gloves on.

We love the feel and design of the Hand Stylus, it feels extremely natural; we’ve been using similarly designed writing utensils our whole life. Our only fear is that we forget to pop out the tip and accidentally scratch our screen with the metal end of the Hand. On Kickstarter, the Hand Stylus raised over $300,000, an impressive feat for a market that’s flooded with competition. There’s no denying the fact that Hand Stylus is doing something better than every other stylus, but after going hands-on we realize it’s not just one feature. It’s an overall well balanced (literally and figuratively) stylus that makes accurate usage quick and comfortable. The $29.95 price tag is on the more expensive side, but it’s worth the premium over cheaper styluses. The Hand Stylus is currently available in 6 different colors, solid and matte.